Raising and lowering mechanism.



No. 807,176. PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905.

G. W. KING.

RAISING AND LOWBRING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 29. 1905.

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G. W. KING.

RAISING AND LOWERING MECHANISM. APPLICATION FILED MAY 29, 1905.

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PATENTED DEC. 12, 1905.

G. W. KING. RAISING AND LOWERING MECHANISM.

APPLIOATION IILED MAY 29, 1905.

3 SHEETS-SHIIBT 3.

Inventor George Wifim the dredge.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEoRGE W. KING, OF MARION,

OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MARION STEAM SHOVEL COMPANY, OF MARION, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF-OHIO. RAISING AND LOWERING MECHANISM- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Application filed May 29, 1905. Serial No. 262,745.

To ttZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. KING, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marion, in the county of Marion and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Raising and Lowering Mechanism, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to raising and lowering mechanism, being designed for use more particularly in connection with gold-mining dredges for the purpose of raising and lowering the outer free end of the stacker or conveyer, by means of which the spoil or debris is discharged at a distance from the body of The mechanism is, however, adapted for use in other connections where the winding and unwinding of'a ropeor cable is used for raising or lowering any'kind of load or for other purposes.

The object of the invention is to provide a simple, inexpensive, and eflicient mechanism which shall be readily reversible and which will automatically support the load in any position without requiring the manipulation of any appliances'for that purpose.

To these ends my invention consists in certain novel features, which I will now proceed to describe and will then particularly point out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an elevation of a mechanism embodying my invention in one form, a portion of the framework of the dredge being shown. Fig. 2 is a detail plan section, on an enlarged scale, taken on the line w m of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of what is shown in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional View, on an enlarged scale, taken centrally in a vertical plane through the driving-shaft; and Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view taken on a plane corresponding with the line y'g of Fig. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows, said view showing in section some of the parts omitted from Fig. 4.

In the said drawings, 1 indicates a suitable supporting structure, which in the present instance is shown as a' part of the upper deck of a gold-mining dredge. Upon this deck is mounted a supporting-frame composed of parallel members 2, on which are mounted bearing-boxes 3; which receive a shaft 4, carrying the drum 5, on which is wound the rope or cable, which in the present instance extends over suitable guiding-pulleys to the outer end of the stacker to raise and lower the same, the inner end of the stacker being pivoted to the hull of the dredge. The drum is provided with a gear 6, which meshes with a pinion 7 on a counter-shaft 8, mounted in bearings 9, also supported on the frame 2. The counter-shaft 8 is provided at one end with a worm gear 10, with which meshes a worm 11, secured to a vertical shaft 12.

The shaft 12 is mounted at its lower end in a bearing 13, supported on the frame 2. The upper end of the shaft 12 is supported in a bearing 14, carried upon a cross-piece 15, supported by uprights 16, which latter in the present instance form parts of the framing of the dredge. Above the bearing 14 there is secured on the shaft 12 a conical frictiongear 17 preferably of metal.

18 indicates a drivingshaft mounted in bearings 19 on the uprights 16 and having rotatory motion imparted to it-in any suitable manneras, for instance, by means of a pulley 20, around which passes a belt from any suitable source of power, preferably an electric motor. The shaft 18 has splined thereon a sleeve 21, which thus rotates in unison with the shaft and is also movable longitudinally thereof. This sleeve carries'two conical friction-gears 22 and 23, located on diametrically opposite sides of the friction-gear 17 and so arranged that either of said gears 22 and 23 maybe brought into operative contact with the gear 17, or. the sleeve may be so moved that neither of said gears 22 and 23 is in contact with the gear 17. The gears 22 and 23 are preferably constructed as shown, having a body portion, of indurated fiber, wood, or the like, clamped by bolts 24 between flanges 25 on the ends of the sleeve 21 and flanges 26 on the ends of the sleeves 27, which are located between said body portions and the shaft 18.

The shifting mechanism for the sleeve 21 comprises a split collar 28, fitting loosely in a groove 29 in the sleeve 21 and having laterally-projecting pins 30. On the extreme upper end of the shaft 12 there is loosely mounted above the gear 17 a collar 31, which is provided with laterally-projecting pins 32. Upon these pins are pivoted the bifurcated arms of a yoke-lever 33, for the lower end of which said pins furnish a fulcrum. The arms of said lever 33 are provided with apertures 3 L, through which pass the pins 30 of the collar To the upper end of the lever 33 is pivotally connected one end of a link 35, the other end of which is pivoted to a hand-lever 36, fulcrumed at 37 to a suitable support or portion of the frame. It will be seen that by means of the lever 36 the sleeve 21 may be so moved as to bring either of the frictiongears 22 or 23 into contact with the frictiongear 17, and thereby drive the shaft 12 in either direction, or said sleeve can be'so moved that the gear 17 will be free from contact with either of the other gears, when the shaft 12 will be stationary.

Heretofore the stacker in dredges of this description has been raised and lowered by hand through the medium of a crank and a suitable train of reduction-gearing, the load being held in position either by a pawl-andratchet mechanism or by a brake. This construction is laborious to operate and results in frequent breakage of the stacker by reason of its falling, through allowing the ratchet mechanism or brake to slip. These objectionable features are entirely done away with by the construction which I have devised. It will be seen that the drum is power-driven, so that the load may be readily and quickly raised and lowered. It will also be seen that the direction of movement of the drum, together with its starting and stopping, are all readily controlled from a single hand-lever, and since the transmission is a frictional one between the driving-shaft and worm-shaft the speed with which the raising or lowering is accomplished may be readily controlled. Finally, it will be seen that since the train of driving mechanism includes a worm and wormgear the drum will remain stationary in any position in which it may be as soon as the power is cut off by shifting the sleeve so as to disconnect the friction-gearing. Thus the stopping. starting, direction, and speed of the drum are all controlled from a single lever, and the load is automatically supported in whatever position it may be as soon as the movement of the drum stops.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise details of construction hereinbefore described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, as it is obvious that these details may be modified without departing from the principle of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is g 1. In a mechanism of the character described, a winding-drum, a worm-gear operatively connected with said drum, a shaft provided with a worm meshing with said wormgear, said shaft being also provided with a friction-gear, a driving-shaft having splined thereon two friction-gears located on opposite sides of the worm-shaft friction-gear, and means for engaging either of said drivingshaft friction-gears with the worm-shaft friction-gear, and for disengaging both of said first-mentioned friction-gears from the third friction-gear, substantially as described.

2. In a mechanism of the character described, a winding-drum, a worm-gear operatively connected with said drum, a shaft provided with a Worm meshing with said wormgear, said shaft being also provided with a friction-gear, a driving-shaft, a sleeve splined on said driving-shaft and provided with two friction-gears located on opposite sides of the worm-shaft friction-gear and normally out of contact therewith, and a lever operatively connected with said sleeve and adapted to move the same longitudinally of the driving-shaft so as to bring either of the sleeve frictiongears into contact with the worm-shaft friction-gear, substantially as described. I

3. In a mechanism of the character described, the combination, with a windingdrum, and a worm-gearing for driving the same comprising a worm-shaft having a friction-gear secured thereon, said shaft projecting beyond the gear and being provided with a loose collar, of a driving-shaft arranged transversely at the end of the worm-shaft, a sleeve splined on said driving-shaft and having friction-gears located on opposite sides of the worm-shaft friction-gear, and a lever fulcrumed on the collar and engaging the'sleeve to move the same longitudinally of the driving-shaft, substantially as described.

4.. In a mechanism of the character described, a supporting-frame, a winding-drum mounted therein and provided with a gear, a counter-shaft mounted in said frame and provided with a pinion meshing with the drumgear, said counter-shaft being also provided with a worm-gear, a shaft provided with a worm to mesh with said worm-gear, a driving-shaft, a reversible friction-gear drive connecting said driving and worm shafts, and means controlling said friction-gear drive to disconnect said shafts, and to connect them to drive the worm-shaft in either direction, substantially as described.

5. In a mechanism of the character described, a winding-drum, a worm-gear operatively connected with said drum, a vertical shaft having at its lower end a worm meshing with said worm-gear and having at its upper end a friction-gear, an elevated counter-shaft connected with a source of power to constitute a driving-shaft, a sleeve splined on said counter-shaft and provided with friction-gears located on opposite sides of the worm-shaft In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in friction-gear and normally out of contact presence of two Witnesses.

therewith and a lever operatively connected with said sleeve to move the same longitudi- GEORGE KING 5 nally of its shaft to bring either of its fric- Witnesses:

tion-gears into contact with the worm-shaft ROBERT G.- LUoAs,

friction-gear, substantially as described. WILLIAM R. SHISLER. 

